Operations management concerns with managing of resources that directly produce the organization’s service or product. These resources are brought together by a series of processes so that they are utilized to deliver the primary service or product of the organization. Thus, operations is concerned with managing resources through transformation processes to deliver service or products. (Rowbotham, Galloway and Azhashemi, 2007) Since the mid-1980s, the rate of growth of major service sector categories as hospitality services, has been approximately double that of other industries (Daley et al., 1998). Due to the unique characteristics of service operations, such as heterogeneity, inseparability, intangibility and perishability, a service cannot be stored and has to be produced and consumed simultaneously (Fitzsimmons and Fitzsimmons, 2004). From a guest’s point of view, the service is an experience. It is the sum of everything that happens to him or her in connection with a transaction or series of transactions. Services differ from goods in several aspects. (Lovelock, 1992) Operation is the core function of the organization and continuously manages the flow of resources through it. In many organizations, operations accounts for 80% of the employees and hence most of the added value (Naylor, 1996). The growing importance of the service sector in the global economy has drawn a significant increase of interest in operations management.

An effective and efficient service operation is consequently a challenge to operations manager due to the intense, competitive environment within the hospitality industry.

Therefore the improvement of operation functions, such as the use of capacity management, is essential for operations manager to create a more effective and efficient operation. At the same time, it helps to increase service quality and generate higher profitability.

Ava Restaurant in Hotel Panorama in Hong Kong is the organization of choice for evaluation for this essay. Definitions of one of the operation’s functions, capacity management, will first be given. It will be used as a practical example to evaluate and analyze the effectiveness of capacity management in the industry. Existing problems with capacity management in Ava Restaurant will be identified, and potential solutions and recommendations will be suggested. A summary of the key points and final recommendation will be presented in conclusion.

In the service industry, achieving efficient capacity management has always been one of the challenges of all operations managers (Klassen & Rohleder, 2002). Lines (1996) states that customers have grown accustomed not to have to wait, and if the goods they require are either not in stock or unavailable at short notice, they will go elsewhere.

Consequently, their requirements have to be anticipated and most or all distribution operations have to be completed before their orders are received. Despite the opportunities and apparent attractiveness of the service sector, however, there are no guarantees of

success (Rodie & Martin, 2001). Dealing with capacity effectively and efficiently will definitely increase success in the service industry.

Lovelock (1992) defines the capacity of a service as the highest possible amount of output that may be obtained in a specific period of time with a predefined level of staff, installations and equipment. Slack et al. (1995) defines capacity as the maximum level of value-added activity over a period of time that the process can achieve under normal operating conditions. Due to the fact that services need to be produced and consumed simultaneously (Czepiel, 1990; Grove and Fisk, 1997; Martin and Clark, 1996), when demand for a service falls short of the capacity to serve, the results are idle servers and facilities. An example is during lunch or dinner periods the majority of guests arrive at a fairly similar time. These variations...

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...﻿Operational ManagementOperationsmanagement is defined as a systematic transformation process that converts a set of inputs into useful outputs.
1.1 Definitions:
An operations system is defined as one in which several activities are performed to transform a set of inputs into a useful output using a transformation process. These inputs and outputs can be tangible, as in the case of raw materials and physical products, or intangible, as in the case of information and experiences. Viewed in this manner, we can say that manufacturing and service systems could be broadly classified as operations systems.
Operationsmanagement is a systematic approach to address issues in the transformation process that converts inputs into useful, revenue-generating outputs.
It is a systematic approach that involves understanding the nature of issues and problems to be studied; establishing measures of performance; collecting relevant data; using scientific tools, techniques, and solution methodologies for analysts; and developing effective as well as efficient solutions to the problem at hand. Therefore, for successful operationsmanagement, the focus should be on developing a set of tools and techniques to analyze the problems faced within an operations system.
The operationsmanagement addresses...

...﻿Word Count: 2.386
In our modern market economy, given the dynamic nature of the environment, where competition reaches outstanding levels and variables such as consumer demand are increasingly more difficult to analyze and predict, it all comes to the abilities of managers to keep their companies successful. CEO’s, marketing and operations managers, they all play a vital role in the profitability of their companies, no matter if they are small regional companies or large multinational corporations.
Since the start of the economic crisis in 2008, all national economies face difficulties, both in the goods and the financial markets. This is also the case of Romania, which started as one of the most promising emerging economies in the Eastern European area. Now the country is struggling to meet budget deficit targets and pay back IMF loans.
Even in these rough conditions, S.C. Marinaden S.R.L. (Limited Liability - the equivalent of the British Ltd.) remains one of the largest furniture manufacturers and retailers in the country’s Northern region. Ever since this company was started 50 years ago, it succeeded in being one of the top players in the field. The company has two manufactory facilities located at the outskirts of Iasi and Suceava (two of the largest cities in the region), which work around the clock to make sure all demand is met. As points of sale, the company uses more than 10 rented spaces in major cities at the moment, each of them being located...

...Coursework of OperationsManagement Comparison and contrast of operation problems among Executive Holloware ltd., Oilpartz ltd. and London zoo Summary In this article, three operationsmanagement related cases are studied and analysed. The writer compares and contrasts similarities and differences in these cases in the following aspects: the transformation process model, types of operations, the objectives of operations. By looking into more detailed problems in each case, those more complex items such as quality improvement, process planning, capacity planning, scheduling/loading, are also illustrated. And finally, some key factors concerned with operations improvement and strategy are given to the cases. Operationsmanagement is the term used for the activities, decisions and responsibilities of operations managers who manage the production and delivery of products and services. Because the functions, characteristics are different in various companies, operationsmanagement themes will not always be the same in those societies. In the cases we studied, for example, Executive Holloware and London Zoo have to tackle the biggest problem of quality, while Oilpartz Ltd (in the case of I'll phone you back) is mostly concentrating on the capacity planning. Before we go deeper into those problems,...

...DEFINE OPERATIONSMANAGEMENT AND DISCUSS ITS ESSENTIAL FEATURES AND THE IMPORTANCE/BENEFITS OF OPERATION PRIORITIES
Introduction:
Every organization is in business because it has products, services and in some cases a combination of the two (i.e. product and service), that it offers customers as a solution to a particular need or want they have. This implies that, the very core business of every organization is to get these products and services readily available to customers, through its operations.
We can therefore conclude that, every single activity that is directly associated with the manufacturing of products or services, from the Input stage of raw materials like (cocoa beans, coffee beans etc) through the Transformational processing stage of decision making and planning using available client information, human resource activity, equipment, facilities and available technology to the finished stage of Output (ie the product/services) is classified as its Operations.
Definition of OperationsManagement;
OperationsManagement is defined by (Davis, Aguilano and Chase, 1999, p5 as “Management of the conversion process which transforms inputs such as raw materials and labour into outputs in the forms of finished goods and services” However, this definition focuses on the Operations function which is...

...countries and currently have more than 30,000 different locations worldwide. The fast food industry is booming at a rapid rate, especially the health conscious food options. With this in mind, McDonald’s has a strategic plan to stay on top of their competitors by providing consumers with affordable prices, great service, and more healthy meal options. McDonald’s is competitive in many categories, including price, quality, management and employee training. Consumers trust McDonald’s products because they use many of the same trusted brands that families buy at local grocery stores.
Operations Strategy
“In many companies, the key to success is often an operations-based advantage. Superior operations effectiveness not only serves to buttress a company’s existing competitive position, but, when based on capabilities that are embedded in the company’s people and operating processes, is inherently difficult to imitate.” --R. H. Hayes and D. M. Upton, “Opeations-based Strategy.” California Management Review, Summer, 1998.
McDonald’s utilizes an excellent operations strategy in order to gain a larger market share and increase value to the shareholders. The corporation specifically focuses on speed, standardization, quality, and affordability. McDonalds has moved ahead of the competition by focusing on these factors.
McDonald’s competes on three main bases, such as speed, affordability, and...

...purchase of a car, the good is the car but the processing, the provision of accessories, after sales activities are all services. It is essential to note that the difference between pure goods and pure services are in contrast but most goods and services exist in between with a mix of both. At the level of the firm, service providers don’t just offer services and manufacturers don’t just offer products. For instance, in a restaurant, food refers to goods while the service is the waiters offering, the ambience, the setting of tables amongst others.Even though service doesn’tuse finished goods inventories, they do inventory their inputs. For example hospitals need to keep inventories of medical supplies and materials needed for day to day operations.
2. Difference between productivity and efficiency:
Productivity and efficiency both are the ratio of output to input still they have some differences. These are given below:
Productivity
Efficiency
Productivity is determined by looking at the production obtained (effectiveness) versus the invested effort in order to achieve the result (efficiency).
1
Efficiency is determined by the amount of time, money, and energy – i.e. resources – that are necessary to obtain certain results.
It is the ratio between efficiency and effectiveness.
2
It is the amount of resources needed to execute the process.
It is based on how much produced in certain amount of time.
3
It is based on materials used in...

...Production & OperationsManagement
What is operationmanagement? What is the role of the Operation Manager?
Set of activities that create value in the form of goods and services by transforming inputs into outputs.
The role of an operation manager is to design and manage the daily operations and activities in a way that the productivity of the employees raises. It is also their responsibility to ensure that the physical and the human resources of the organization are achieved. He also ensures that the organization produces quality and goods and services are produced on time to meet the client’s time or deadline.
1. What are the 10 critical decisions an operations manager can make?
Design of goods and services
Quality Management
Process Design
Capacity Design
Location Strategy
Layout Design
Supply-Chain Management
Inventory Management
Intermediate and Shot-term scheduling
Maintanance
2. What is the difference between a product and a service?
Products are tangible and services are intangible
services are normally produced and consumed at the same time
services are often unique
services have inconsistent product definition
3. What is a system? Draw a process?
A system can be broadly defined as an integrated set of elements that accomplish a defined...

...OPERATIONSMANAGEMENT IN SERVICE AND MANUFACTURING ENVIRONMENTS
In defining an organization we usually come across two major categories of organizations. First Manufacturing organization and the other Service organization. Both, above-mentioned organizations are completely different from one another and hence the role of operationsmanagement is different in both. Operationsmanagement is mainly concerned with making the proper use of available resources of the organization. Resources available to the organizations are completely different and are used by them in differently. Looking at the broader picture in a manufacturing organizations productivity is easily measured because of the production of tangible products whereas in service organizations it’s difficult to measure productivity because products are intangible (Dilworth, 2000). According to Krajewski and Ritzman (2002) the differences between the services and goods production can be classified as: Manufactured goods are physical and durable products whose quality can be measured easily whereas services are perishable products like ideas and concepts with high degree of customer contact and there quality cannot be measured easily.
Operation Managers are the people responsible for almost all activities concerned with the production of goods or services of organizations, they convert the ideas into final products....